My Friend Linda -- A Wheat Elimination Cause for Celebration

As I've mentioned in every post or thread I get a chance to, my friend Linda is a huge reason why Savannah and I are now living Primally.

When Linda told me in October that she didn't know what to do, that her a1c level was 7.6, and that her endocrinologist said she'd likely go on insulin in January if she couldn't get it down, I thought, "I wish I knew how to help!"

I also felt perpetually concerned that my own little child was getting too much sugar. Way too much. She seemed to focus on only starches at meals, and candy was coming from every direction: school rewards, relatives, school store, Halloween...

A high school friend is now a personal chef to diabetics in Colorado, and she posts various interesting article links on Facebook. I started to read them because Bridget looked so darn healthy, and I wondered if she was onto something. One share was about "Wheat Belly". I read the article, then found a podcast interview of Dr. William Davis by Robb Wolf and Greg Everett. I was spellbound. I made Linda listen to it on November 12th, as we drove home from the ballet. She was transfixed!

The next day, she got the book, and started reading. The day after THAT, she quit wheat.

I got a phone call on November 15th: "Joy. 129!"

"129?"

"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE!" That was my fasting blood sugar level, and I haven't seen that in years! That's almost pre-diabetic!"

This went on, she made other discoveries, and the numbers just kept dropping. So, too, did a lot of weight. Her cheekbones have made an appearance. Weird hard nodules under the skin on top of her hands all went away... The only thing she gained was energy and confidence that she could effect real change!

One experience she had during this period of discovery: A dinner hosted by a vegan acquaintance that had nothing but veggies, rice, and various beans sent her sugars soaring. So, no more of that for Linda. She does way better on meats, fish, cheeses, and veggies, and berries.

Which brings us to last week, when I got a glorious and breathless voicemail from Linda. She had brought her a1c to 6.3. The goal for diabetics is "get it under 7." Normal ranges are something like 4 to 6. She is so close to a "normal" a1c for somebody who's turned this around in just a couple months!

The doctor wanted to know what the source of all her learning was (she could recite to him her facts about AGEs, glycation, visceral fat and its hormonal output) and told her to "just keep doing this! Don't stop! No insulin for you, and I'll see you in July!" He asked again for the name of that book.

He had a follow-up phone call about results, and told her by phone, "If I weren't on the other end of this phone, I'd shake your hand a thousand times!"

I have watched my own household transformed because I went on the no wheat project with Linda, to stand strong with her. My daughter's candy consumption plummeted. She thoroughly loved these satisfying, fatty, protein-laden meals. But she doesn't eat a heaping mound like she did cheese raviolis. The volume is much less... yet the dessert consumption is less, and often forgotten.

I lost 6 pounds without even trying. A weird rashy rosacea that has made me sad and made me cover in powder the last 5 years is now gone. I usually wear no minerals at all now, just my moisturizer, unless I want to go for a finished effect. I haven't had a blemish since the end of November. I was never without acne--ever.

Well, I've stayed up past my Primal Bedtime--way past. But I just needed to share why I'm so evangelical about this Primal/Paleo thing. I honestly believe we have a gift here before us, this wonderful food, and nobody knows, not enough people, know. I feel desperate for people to know. Well, I'm still learning, myself. So I must try not to be obnoxious and boring about it...